Exchange insolvency
When the exchange stops paying out
Withdrawals halt, then a filing follows. Your account balance was a book entry, but your deposits were real transactions on a public ledger, and so is every movement of the estate's wallets. Document what you sent, what it was worth on the date that fixes your claim, and where the assets went.
The chain does not hold your account balance
Customer funds are normally pooled in omnibus wallets, so an exchange wallet holding a large balance is not evidence that any part of it is yours, and a wallet that looks empty is not evidence that your funds are gone. The allocation lived in the exchange's internal ledger. On-chain analysis evidences your deposits and the estate's asset movements. It cannot carve your share out of a commingled balance, and you should treat any tool claiming otherwise with real caution.
If you are a creditor
Evidence your deposits
Each transfer into the exchange is a dated, permanent transaction. Pulling them together gives your claim a documented on-chain basis rather than a screenshot of an account page that may no longer load.
Value it as of the petition date
Where a claim is fixed in currency terms on the filing date, that figure decides what you are owed. Value the holdings on that exact day, from a stated price source, on Ethereum and EVM chains, Bitcoin and Litecoin.
Prove you control an address
If the estate asks you to establish control of a withdrawal address, a signing link has the holder sign a challenge with the wallet's own key. The proof, method and timestamp are embedded in the report.
Keep a clean record
Reports carry a SHA-256 content hash and can be exported as a PDF or an Excel workpaper, so an administrator or your accountant can check the arithmetic and confirm the document is unaltered.
If you act for the estate
Trace the run-up to filing
Transfers out of exchange wallets in the weeks before a petition are visible with exact timestamps, which is the raw material for preference and avoidance analysis.
Watch the known wallets
Put estate addresses under monitoring and the next movement produces an email within the hour, with per-wallet rules so a dollar threshold or a direction filters out the noise.
Follow assets to a counterparty
Where funds reached another exchange, the recipient is identifiable through legal process. Off-ramp leads are graded in evidence tiers so you know which are dated direct deposits before drafting.
Work it as a matter
Group every report, trace and monitored wallet under a matter with a conflict check, your firm's branding, your commentary, and a sign-off bound to the exact content state.
The valuation date is the number that matters
A crypto balance can be worth one figure when withdrawals halt, another when the petition is filed, and another again when distributions are calculated. Where the regime fixes claims in currency as of the filing date, later price movement does not help or hurt you, which makes that single day decisive. WalletDNA computes the balance held on a date you choose and its USD value, from archive block data on Ethereum and EVM chains or a full history replay on Bitcoin and Litecoin, priced from a source stated on the report. The price selection is disclosed rather than assumed, because it is the assumption an administrator will test.
Questions
The exchange froze withdrawals. Can I see my crypto on the blockchain?
Almost certainly not as yours. Most exchanges pool customer funds into omnibus wallets, so the chain shows a large balance belonging to the exchange rather than a balance belonging to you. Your account figure was an entry in the exchange's internal ledger, and that ledger is not on-chain. What the chain does show clearly is your deposit going in, which is the part that evidences your claim.
What is actually useful to me on-chain, then?
Three things. Your deposit transactions, which date and quantify what you handed over. The exchange's known wallets, which show whether assets moved before or after the freeze and where they went. And proof that a withdrawal address is under your control, when the estate asks you to establish that.
Why does the petition date matter so much?
In many insolvency regimes a claim is fixed in currency terms as of the filing date, so a crypto balance is converted to a dollar figure on that day and later price movement does not change the claim. That makes the valuation date a decisive number rather than a formality, and one worth documenting from a stated source rather than a screenshot.
Can WalletDNA value a wallet as of a past date?
Yes, on Ethereum and EVM chains through archive balances, and on Bitcoin and Litecoin through a full replay of the address history, priced from a stated source. Pick the petition date, the freeze date, or the date of your last statement. The valuation saves with the report, prints as its own page in the PDF, and can be exported as an Excel workpaper for an accountant to check.
Can you tell me whether I will be paid?
No. That depends on the estate's total assets, the claim hierarchy, and the court, none of which are on-chain questions. What on-chain analysis contributes is evidence for your claim and a documented record of asset movement. Treat any service that predicts your recovery percentage with suspicion.
I am acting for the estate rather than a creditor. Is this useful?
Yes, and often more so. Known estate wallets can be placed under monitoring so any movement produces an email within the hour, transfers in the run-up to filing can be traced and dated for preference and avoidance analysis, and where funds reached another exchange the counterparty is identifiable through legal process. Everything groups under a matter with a conflict check, firm branding and an analyst sign-off.
Not legal or financial advice
WalletDNA produces blockchain analysis, not legal or financial advice, and nothing here creates a professional relationship. How claims are valued, ranked and paid varies by jurisdiction and by the terms of the particular proceeding. Take advice on your own position.
Start with the address you deposited from
Free to run, across 18 chains. Add the valuation date that fixes your claim.
Analyze an address